Met Gala 2023: Of cats and couture
From Roger Federer and Alia Bhatt to Kim Kardashian and Dua Lipa, celebs pay homage to designer Karl Lagerfeld's legacy at Met Gala 2023
(L-R) Michaela Cole (Image: Noam Galai/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images) Penélope Cruz and Dua Lipa (Image: Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue) and Roger Federer (Image: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
A bride studded in pearls. A feline form in beads and feathers. An actual, fluffy cat costume.
Celebrities brought out their most creative ensembles for fashion’s biggest night of the year. This year’s theme for the Met Gala was "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty", celebrating the legendary designer, whose work across Chanel, Fendi, and Chloe, among others, changed fashion's course. While the odd pinks, reds, and blues turned heads, the walk on the stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute was filled with references to Lagerfeld's Chanel bride, his love for black and white, stiff collars, pearls, chains and the Chanel staple: The Camellia flower.
The Met Gala is a highly watched fundraising component of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, for its Costume Institute and its famed annual exhibit. The gala, organised by Vogue magazine, is themed around the exhibit.
Karl Lagerfeld’s work has not been without controversy: He has been called out for his comments on homophobia, speaking against the #MeToo movement, and for being notoriously fatphobic. On the red carpet, however, body positivity icons including Ashley Graham, Serena Williams (who revealed a pregnant belly) and Cardi B lent Lagerfeld’s legacy some much-needed perspective.
While we’ve seen Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Natasha Poonawalla walk the carpet in past editions too, actor Alia Bhatt and businesswoman-educationist Isha Ambani Piramal made their Met Gala debuts this year. Here’s a round-up of the most noteworthy looks.
Isha Ambani Piramal
Photo by Cindy Ord/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Hot off the launch of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, which focusses on India’s contribution to global fashion in its inaugural show, Reliance’s Isha Ambani Piramal chose a custom saree gown designed by Prabal Gurung. Pearls and crystals gave the shining outfit a cascading effect and added movement to the fabric. She paid homage to Lagerfeld's love for cats with a rare Chanel Paris - Bombay 2012 Matryoshka doll bag.
Alia Bhatt
Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Writing about how she was always inspired by Lagerfeld’s Chanel brides, Alia Bhatt chose a billowing pearl-encrusted gown in eggshell-white, with a structured corset and an edgy, fingerless glove. The Prabal Gurung creation was custom-made in India.
